She will be missed

Last week, as I was composing my post about Jack's potty-training adventures, we got some very sad news. My sister-in-law (and occasional snarky commenter), Marnie, lost her best friend.


Kindra is the blonde between me and Marnie (aka The Bride) in September.

Kindra was 30 years old, married two years and never got the chance to have the children she was looking forward to raising. Kindra was diagnosed with what turned out to be an extremely aggressive form of cervical cancer last April. She had the tumor removed and a complete hysterectomy this summer, but it spread to her lymph nodes and eventually, throughout her abdomen. She was an awesome girl and I am very saddened by this. Marnie was with her throughout the experience and was there when Kindra died; it has been very hard for her.

I first met Kindra when she lived two floors down from Josh and me at our old place. She was Marnie's roommate and genuinely the nicest person I have ever met. I remember her as a fun girl, always up for a glass of wine or just hanging out on the patio. She used to take her cat, Luna, outside on a leash and let her run around the yard while she was getting some sun. I always thought is was hysterical to see this little cat hiding in the lilac bushes and meowing loudly and Kindra, who was several feet away, chatting right back to her.

This past spring, I was lucky enough to spend a weekend with Kindra in Napa as part of Marnie's bachelorette weekend. Despite being diagnosed with her cancer just a few days beforehand, she still made the trip to make it a special weekend for Marnie. That's just the kind of person Kindra was. Always out to make things awesome for other people. In fact, she outlasted me one night that weekend. Yes, the woman with cancer stayed out later than the mom away from her kids for two days. Although, I am not sure if that says more about Kindra or less about me.

I would appreciate any positive thoughts you can send both to Marnie and Kindra's husband, Mark. He is a first-year teacher and now a widow. I am not sure how he is going to make ends meet as he is now responsible for paying off her staggering medical bills in addition to all the other everyday costs of bills and mortgages. Because of this, we are doing a SnarkyBabies fund-raiser for Mark. All proceeds from the sales of these products will go to help Mark.

If there is anything to take away from this, it is to listen to your body and speak up. Kindra had weird discharge and spotting for several months. The first time she saw the doctor in March, the PAP missed the tumor that was growing behind her cervix. When she went back in April because things weren't getting better, the second doctor (ironically, my own OB) knew it was cancer just by looking at her cervix. Cervical cancer is one of the ones you can beat if found early enough, so please, get your PAP and push your doctor if you suspect you are not getting the right level of care.

I encourage you to read her blog to get a little insight into just how amazing Kindra was. Even in the face of adversity, her sense of humor and total optimism are evident.